y there. i'm here for americans. congress, let's be here for our american people. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma voids. mr. cole: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield one minute to the distinguished member from new jersey, mr. runyan. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. mr. runyan: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support today of this rule. if you look next to me you'll see damage from seaside heights, new jersey in my district. my constituents in seaside have suffered for well over two months in trying to clean up the mess that was left behind by hurricane sandy. in the past taxpayers in new jersey, new york and connecticut have gladly stepped up to foot the bill for the disasters of other states. whether it was florida, louisiana, mississippi, texas. we didn't ask questions. we just stopped and delivered aid to those in need. this is important, it is important that members who have been the benefactor of our goodwill in the past remember this generosity when voting today. .

almost three months later and my constituents continue to suffer. i urge passage of the rule and underlying bill and yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from yields back. the gentlelady from new york. ms. slaughter: i'm pleased to yield 1 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. andrews. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. andrews: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. andrews: i thank my friend for yielding. 78 days ago a tremendous force of fury hit the northeastern region of the united states. today we make an act of national interest. this is not an act of excess or an act of charity. for those who claim that there is excess in this bill, i would suggest that they read it. throughout this bill the bill says that the spending is limited to, quote, necessary expenses related to the consequences of hurricane sandy. period. this is throughout the text of

the bill. this is not an act of charity. these three states -- new york, new jersey, and connecticut, threes three states pay almost 16% of the taxes collected in the united states of america. three states, 16% of the taxes. you ask the question, who suffered because of superstorm sandy? certainly our neighbors in new york and new jersey and connecticut suffered the most, but all americans will suffer if this economic engine is not rebuilt. the three states that pay nearly 16% of the taxes need this reconstruction, and so does the united states of america. all members, republican and democrat, should vote yes in favor of this legislation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: i reserve the balance of my time, mr. speaker.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from new york. ms. slaughter: i'm pleased to yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from new york, mr. bishop. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. bishop: i thank my friend, representative slaughter for yielding time. i also thank representatives lowey and king for their leadership and commend my colleagues in the new york and new jersey and connecticut delegations on both sides of the aisle for working so well together to advance the interest of our state at this critical time. i'd also like to thank my friend, mr. cole, for his support. i rise to support the rule and urge my colleagues to support h.r. 152 and the frelinghuysen amendment and oppose the mulvaney amendment. it has been 2 1/2 months since superstorm sandy hit communities in new york, new jersey, and neighboring states which continue to face the unsurmountable task of cleaning up homes, businesses, and lives. i'm grateful we have had the opportunity to consider a relief package to those in most need. in my district on the eastern half of long island, businesses,

farms, and homes fell victim to intense flooding. ferocious winds caused substantial damage to property. and along the coast sandy created breaches in the coastline and severely eroded other parts of the beach. 651,000 homes why were damaged or destroyed and 463,000 were impacted. our states are not asking for anything more than help to get back on their feet and rebuild. we are asking for nothing more than respond to this disaster as we have for hurricane katrina and other natural disasters that have brought damage upon our fellow americans. i urge my colleagues to support this package without any damaging amendments. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman continues to reserve. the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pascrell. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. mr. pascrell: i heard the words

a few moments ago about a grab bag. i can assure you that the governors who introduced itemized lists went into them very deeply with the consultation of local officials. it's no grab bag. that's an insult to the northeastern states that were hit by this tremendous storm. it's ironic, of those who oppose this legislation, that many of them, i have the list here, mr. speaker, if you want to see it, supported not only disaster aid for their own areas, but some of them got disaster aid personally. the gentleman from south carolina, he personally took a small business loan, federal loan, as part of a disaster relief program. yet he comes here and at the

rules committee to question what we are submitting? i want to say to the chair and the ranking person in the rules committee, they did a good job yesterday, going through 92 amendments. i don't know how you did it. of course you dismissed some he very quickly, which was very good. i also want to say that mr. rogers, mr. cole, louise slaughter have been particularly outstanding, along with rodney frelinghuysen's amendment, which i will definitely support. there are two towns wiped out in my district. little ferry and moon dauken. the water came over the banks, thank god we didn't have that much rain or we would have had a worse disaster. we stood on this floor after katrina and voice voted billions of dollars, voice voted. we didn't even take an individual vote.

i think that the record is very clear on what is needed. we take out the extraneous, take out what we call earmarks, and i think that those who put this legislation together deserve a tremendous amendment of credit. can i have a half a minute more? is that possible? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. ms. slaughter: i regret i have no more time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: mr. speaker, i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. slaughter: i'm pleased to give two minutes to the gentleman from rhode island, mr. langevin. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from rhode island is recognized for two minutes. mr. langevin: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to this rule which prevents consideration of critical amendments offered by me and my colleagues from disaster affected states. i'm particularly disappointed my amendment was not even allowed a

vote as it would ensure all states that received a major disaster declaration due to hurricane sandy are able to receive e.p.a., state, and tribal assistance grants. the failure of the house bill to provide this assistance to every state receiving presidential disaster declaration, as i understand, is troubling and quite frankly extremely disappointing. the refusal of the majority to allow this amendment come for a vote is even worse. the senate passed a fair, balanced aid package last year. provided assistance for all of our communities and industries affected by a major disaster, declaration, including a fishing industry. i'm deeply disappointed this legislation before us reverses course. denying assistance to certain communities affected by sandy, particularly after the house republicans have delayed nearly three months in bringing even this flawed bill to the floor.

in this congress we made it clear that we help our communities when they are in need, when disaster strikes, and this bill doesn't adequately address all communities that have been impacted. for these reasons i will vote against the rule in the hope that we can improve the overall bill to include these critical amendments, but with that being said, should that rule pass, as flawed as it is, i won't let the perfect be the enemy of the good and i would urge my colleagues to act in good faith and pass the disaster assistance bill, free from additional legislative gimmicks, that will only further imperil its success. with that i thank the gentlelady for yielding. this bill is by no means perfect but our states can't afford to wait another he three months. thank you, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: mr. speaker, first let

me take 30 seconds for myself if i may. this is legislation obviously that i support, but i want my friend to be aware the house did not sit on this for 90 days. the administration of the states concerned took over a month, appropriately in my opinion, to assess the damage. the administration sat on it. we didn't get this bill before just before christmas. we are actually acting on it with a deadline more rapidly than anybody else has. we have not been part of the delay. actually we have been trying to expedite things. with that i yield my friend from new jersey, distinguished member from the affected area, mr. lobiondo, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. mr. lobiondo: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in very strong support of the rule and the underlying legislation. i think my colleagues, because we seem to be very mixed and divided on some of this, think of the human face.

my constituents, the constituents of the northeast, they are not just whining, they are not just uncomfortable, they are devastating. they have had everything ripped from them. imagine getting up in the morning, hearing there's a storm coming, not knowing what to expect, and realizing within 24 hours you have lost everything. that's not something any of us want to imagine for ourselves or for our constituents, but that's the place we find ourselves in. these are senior citizens, sometimes with no families. they have been displaced from their homes living in a rented room on a rented cot for months. these are families with young children who are trying to get their lives back together. these are businesses, small businesses, the backbone of the country, who don't know how to get back up and running.

disaster means disaster and emergency means emergency. sure, we could say, let's wait, let's do something differently. but we were there for you. we were there, florida, when you had your hurricane. and god bless you if you think you are not going to have another hurricane. we need this and we need it now, thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york, my colleague, mr. nadler. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i rise in support of the hurricane sandy supplemental appropriations bill and the frelinghuysen amendment to provide the funds necessary to start rebuilding and recovering from the storm. hurricane sandy hit the east coast almost three months ago. never before has the house of representatives taken so long to meet its obligations following a major disaster.

i'm relieved we are finally considering this bill today but i'm disappointed once again that some are still playing politics by trying to add poison pills and offsets that jeopardize the state's package. as the current debate over the pending sequestration shows, finding offsets is no easy task and it makes no sense to put that on the back of emergency aid. it defies the very nature of emergency aid and impedes the federal government from doing its most important job, protecting its citizens when calamity strikes. on the surface, mr. speaker, new york city appears to be back up and running, but many people are still homeless anti-lack of long-term housing for which -- a problem for which we do not have an answer. the restoration of heat and power remains a challenge. there are increasing reports of people including small children getting sick from exposure to toxic mold, sewage, and other substances. entire neighbors are still dark and abandoned. many businesses in lower manhattan are still paying off

loans from the world trade center 10 years ago. many of these businesses were already operating at thin margins. now they have been hit again. and without additional resources, many of them may close for good. the needs are great and yet the house has still failed to act. back in december the senate passed a $60.4 billion disaster aid package that tracked very closely to the administration's request which was based on conservative assessments of needs across the region. the house could have passed the bill back then. there is simply no justifiable reason for the delay unless you believe that when disaster strikes we are all on our own. let us once and for all reject that notion and meet our obligations to get emergency aid in the hands of those who need it urgently. i urge my colleagues to end this madness and vote for the underlying bill for the frelinghuysen amendments and against all restrictive amendments. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield such time as he may consume the distinguished chairman of the rules committee, my friend, pete sessions, and the person who crafted the rule

that allowed us to move this expeditiously through a difficult process and bring this important matter to the floor. mr. sessions: i appreciate the gentleman from oklahoma leading not just this exercise on behalf of the rules committee but actually on behalf of the appropriations committee, the rules committee i know the gentlewoman from, louise slaughter, and i have great confidence not only in tom's leadership but really his insight into what needs to be done and, tom, i want to thank you for your strong leadership in this endeavor on behalf of the appropriations committee as well as the rules committee. mr. speaker, today what i would like to do is take a minute and reset where we are. . we've had lots of debates about what we're doing and why we're doing this. but the bottom line is that our speaker, john boehner, our majority leader, eric cantor, and the minority leader, nancy pelosi, understand that we must

approach a national disaster such as the superstorm together. and as a body, whether it was anita lowey, rodney frelinghuysen, chris smith, michael grimm, frank lobiondo, we as a body understood we had a job to do. the gentlewoman from new york, the ranking member of this committee, louise slaught, and i understood the responsibility. because we had people back home like mayor william acres of seaside heights, new jersey, who talked to jon runyan or perhaps sylvia pa tellow -- patello talked to her congressman about the need of the communities. one nation under god. the united states coming together at a time of extreme difficulty. and that's what we have done. we have worked well together. we have worked with the governors, governors from

pennsylvania, new york, certainly governor christie of new jersey. mayor bloomberg of new york. people who got together and worked. we did wait for the president's declaration of a national emergency. and we did after 40 days and some few hours after that receive the bill. but i think this house of representatives on a bipartisan basis, members working together, louise slaughter, michael grimm, tom cole, others coming together and we are now getting behind a bill. one of the amendments is called the rodney frelinghuysen amendment and it is an amendment that meets the needs of these states and these people. so for those who would say we've taken our time, i'd like to say, i think we're trying to do it right. for those who would say, well, we're not sure exactly how much should be in here or not. this body will determine it by the votes. every member of this body i

believe will have a fair and open opportunity not just as a result of the rule but us working together and i'm very proud of that process. very proud of how rogers, our appropriations chair, who came to the rules committee yesterday and said that he placed before this body what he felt like was an equal opportunity for us to help people this time in the northeast. perhaps it will be people other places. but he wants to make sure that fairness is done. the speaker of the house, john boehner, cares deeply about the people of the northeast and all the people of this country. i think this rule today and i think this bill is an adequate opportunity for members to speak clearly and that is we care about our country and we care about the people of this country. mr. cole, thank you for yielding me time. i want you to know that we, the rules committee, appreciate the time that you have spent on this and that the results i think will come to bear for all of us. i yield back the balance of my

time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back. the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to a fellow new yorker, the gentlewoman from new york, mrs. mccarthy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york is recognized for two minutes. mrs. mccarthy: thank you very much and i appreciate the time and thank you, mr. speaker. i also want to say thank you to tom cole for bringing this forward and i want to say also to congressman sessions, i appreciate his words. you know, we always fight down here. but i always knew that in my heart we would come together to help our constituents. we've heard from republicans and democrats, hurricane sandy was not discriminating against whether you were a republican or a democrat. and we as new yorkers and people in jersey and connecticut, we've always been there for other parts of the country. i think people have to understand, and by the way, a number of republicans came into the district and they saw the disaster. one of your members came and

looked at long beach hospital which was under water and will not be able to open for months and you have to understand, long beach was one of the areas that was hit the hardest. thousands of people without their homes. and i can't even tell you what these homes look like. i know we always hear at times that new yorkers are rich. let me tell you, these are little cottages. these are regular homes. blue collar workers. hard workers. and because of this storm their lives have been torn apart. the pain that i have seen within my constituents and my small businesses -- and by the way, my health care workers, because not only were they taking care of everybody during and after the storm, they're taking care of people today because they're coming in with upper respiratory illnesses because of the mold that's in this area. we need to do everything we can. we don't ask for much. we're pretty tough people. but we do need the help of the american people right now.

and we here in this body, we are representing the american people. you know, i just want to say thank you to everybody. i truly, truly do mean that. i always knew that we would come together. but i'm saying thank you to my -- for my constituents because the pain that they are all suffering, the pain that they are all suffering is unbearable for us as members of congress. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to recognize the distinguished member from florida, the former charronman of the transportation committee, -- chairman of the transportation committee, mr. mica, for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for three minutes. mr. mica: thank you for yielding. hopefully i can shed a little light on some of the commentary in this debate. first of all, the congress always has and always will respond to disasters and it is important in the northeast superstorm that we do so. and we do so responsibly. anyone who says that we did not act, the republicans didn't

act, or our leadership, responsibly is wrong. first of all, let me recount, after the disaster our committee, transportation and infrastructure, which oversees fema, we went to new york, we met with officials, we assessed the damage. we came back and we did a hearing and hauled in fema personnel. we asked specifically is there enough -- is there enough funding available to provide disaster relief? the answer was yes. there was $6 billion in the continuing resolution that congress had passed and another $1 billion left from the previous year, a total of $7 billion. the question at that time was how much would be spent. they said approximately $3 billion, leaving $4 billion that would take us in the disaster relief fund count until february -- account until february. so we worked with the senate and others and tried to look at

reforms. because the last words from mayor bloomberg and the president of staten island, when i left them was, can you help me get money from hurricane irene which they still couldn't get reimbursed because of the bureaucracy and red tape from current fema policy. yesterday the congress, and we passed it twice before, passed those reforms that are so necessary so that new york and new jersey and the others affected won't have the same problems in securing that money. so first there was enough money and is enough money available in the disaster relief fund. there wasn't enough money in the flood insurance account and that is a reimbursement, it will come back. before we left we put $7 billion to insure that they would be -- ensure that they would be taken care of and they are taken care of. so there was enough money, there is enough money, there will be enough money. and this rule is constructed because when the senate passed

their bill over to us at the last minute in the last hour, folks, they porked it down. they put things in there that didn't need to be in there thinking that they could pull one over on the house of representatives. and slide in with disaster relief a whole host of earmarks and i won't go into the details to embarrass anyone, the record will reflect that. so we acted responsibly, our leadership acted responsibly and today this committee, the rules committee, is bringing this out in also a responsible fashion, to deal with the disaster. we'll do it right and we'll protect the american people in the process and their hard-earned taxpayer dollars and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida yields back. the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield three minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. tierney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for three minutes. mr. tierney: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise today in opposition to this rule. i heard comments over there

from the chairman of the rules committee and others about how this is a fair rule and a fair process and how it's one nation under god and everybody trying to help everybody out. how they believe there's an opportunity for every member to consider the mats that are are in this bill -- matters that are in there this bill. that's simply not the reality for the nine states that suffered from fishing failures and threats to our fish that were declared disasters back in 2012. and the congress department said that the fishery disaster in those nine states was leading to people losing their job, the collapse of an industry, one of the oldest and most historic industries in our country. there's an opportunity for this bill to allow an amendment to be brought before the floor for a discussion. about whether or not we ought not to do what the senate did which is put $150 million in that bill specifically for those states, specifically to deal with that aspect of disaster and move forward with that relief. this rules committee in this house decided that members would not have the opportunity to take that vote. the members in this house would not be able to work with

republicans and democrats and independents to discuss a disaster that cut across at least nine states, that dealt with people who were going to lose their job, lose their industry, shatter communities. that instead they would do this on a partisan basis. although this was a bipartisan amendment that was proposed to the rules committee. and although every one of those communities that are in that disaster-declared area have republicans and democrats. and although they have mayors and governors that are from both parties, rules committee on a straight party-line vote decided this congress would not have the opportunity to even consider and debate and discuss and then vote on whether or not we would follow the path of the senate and allow for $150 million in disaster relief of those communities. this is not acceptable. this is not acting like that's one country under god. thls not acting as -- this is not acting in fairness and every member of this particular body is being allowed a voice to represent their constituents. i think we should vote against this rule. i think we should allow for an amendment to be brought. we should have these members

come to the floor and provide for an opportunity to debate and discuss and include in this disaster relief those people that are suffering the disaster in the fishing communities of our country and with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to mrs. maloney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. maloney: i thank my colleague and good friend from new york for yielding and for her extraordinary leadership in this body. i rise in support of the rule and the two underlying bills. as a region, the northeast should not be held to a different standard. the northeast was there when other states were struck with disasters. we were there with the aid. we didn't delay, we didn't put road blocks, we didn't put forward all types of requirements to be met. we voice voted.

we moved swiftly. but the northeast, which is suffering from the second worst natural disaster in the history of our great country, the residents there have been suffering for 2 1/2 months. over 2 1/2 million people lost all their electricity. some still don't have it. and we need the aid and we need it now so that we can start rebuilding. and the northeast is important. these amendments are important not only for this region but for the entire country. the new york metropolitan area produces an estimated 11% of our gross domestic product. the country is better off when our nation's economic engine is working at 100%. these three states pay 16% of the taxes of our great country.

but they can't produce if their subways are broken, if their schools are flooded, if the hospitals have been evacuated and the money's not there to help them rebuild. they can't produce, they can't be part of the great economic engine of this country. so i just plead with my colleagues not to have a double standard. not to vote tornado relief to alabama, to louisiana, to mississippi, missouri, to -- with ike, gustav, katrina, rita, but when it comes to the northeast, with the second worst storm in the history of our country, to delay, delay, delay. we need the aid, we need it now. we need the entire package. you can't rebuild a subway station with one brick. you have to do the whole thing. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself 30 seconds. again, i associate myself very much with the substance of the

gentlelady from new york's remarks. there's no question there's a disaster here. there's no question there needs to be aid. i do differ with the speed with which the house has dealt. let's remember, it took 30 days for the feaktediers to assess the damage -- affected areas to assess the daniel themselves. it then took thed a -- damage themselves. it then took the administration a couple of weeks to assess that. it then took the united states senate a considerable period of time to deliver us something essentially on christmas eve with the deadline coming. the house has moved expeditiously here. we have the issue before us now. certainly no intention to delay. thank you, mr. speaker, and with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield 1 1/2 minutes to mr. israel. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. . mr. israel: i rise in support of this rule. it has been 80 days, for 80 days new yorkers and other americans have been waiting for help. their businesses have been

damaged. their homes have been damaged. their land has been damaged. their condos have been damaged. they need the help. it is one thing to be devastated by a weather storm, it's another thing to be devastated by a political storm. we need to put both storms behind us and move on and provide this help. we have shown partieship in my area, mr. speaker. congressman -- the gentleman from new york, mr. king, a republican, and i and other members of our delegation have worked with governor cuomo and governor christi with mayor bloomberg to move forward. despite the flicks. despite the political winds. we have our two county executives from long island in washington today with residents who are democrats, republicans, conservatives, liberals, independents. this isn't about party, this is about solutions. this is not the time for recriminations about what went wrong. it is the time for recovery about how to get this right. this is not the time for partisan posturing, it is the time for solutions.

we are cautiously optimistic in the few hours both the political storm and weather storm will finally be behind us. that the help will come. the assistance will be provided. that all americans will provide the help that we provide them when times get tough for them. and that people back home were counting on us will get the help they need. i thank the gentlewoman again and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: thank you, mr. speaker. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. slaughter: i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. markey. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for two minutes. mr. markey: i thank the gentlelady. i rise in opposition to the rule . from cape cod to cape ann, from bedford to new freeport. massachusetts fishing families are hurting. i along with the gentleman from massachusetts, congressman tierney and congressman keating,

offered three amendments to this bill to restore kiss as ter -- disaster funding for fishermen in massachusetts and around the country. and to those three amendments, to those three amendments the house republicans said, no, no, no. the house republicans have cut a lifeline to our struggling massachusetts fishermen. the republicans in congress are telling massachusetts fishermen to take a long walk off a short peer -- pier. the economic disaster declared for parts of the new england fishery industry last year was in large part a result of the same forces that made superstorm sandy so damaging. the forces of climate change. it hit new york and it hit new jersey. it hit massachusetts.

climate change, increasing temperatures, it's raising sea levels, it's strengthening storms. that means more stress on new england's iconic cod and other species. i support getting help to the people of new jersey and new york and connecticut, but we cannot forget the other americans who suffered last year, the fishermen of massachusetts, the fishermen of our country cannot be forgotten. this bill says no to them. no to their needs. i urge a no vote on the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york. miss letter: -- ms. slaughter: i have no further requests for time and am prepared to close. mr. cole: i'm prepared to close as well. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, this process that's led us to this point has been distressing and

this congress has failed time and again to realize what's happening here and that is climate change, and because of that and our inability to deal with it there will be more and more disasters, we must be prepared for them in the future. and not hold any area of the state for 90 days to get the help they require and need -- 0 days. to be -- 80 days. i urge my colleagues to stop the political games today. let's pass a bill that is free of unnecessary amendments and get the aid into the hands of those who need it most. those who have suffered the most. and as many of my colleagues have said, it's not just the northeast that suffers. when an area that large and that populated surs, the nation suffers. i -- populated suffers, the nation suffers. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, in closing i'd like to say that i believe we have had a good debate on the rule. i believe the importance and timeliness of this legislation

couldn't be more self-evident. this bill has been carefully crafted and worked in a way to ensure that those americans in need can access the resources necessary to begin the rebuilding process. and this rule has brought this issue in a manner which allows this body to consider it responsibly, thoughtfully, but quickly. personally i want to add that i hope every member reflects on the situation of our fellow americans in the northeast. there's no question they have been overtaken by kiss as -- disaster of historic importance, they have been there for us in the past, we certainly need to be there for them today. and each member ought to recognize at some point he he or she's area will be hit by some disaster and they will be here speaking -- seeking support. i would ask they consider this request from our fellow americans in the northeast in the same way they would want their request considered at the appropriate and necessary time

for them. to close, i would urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying legislation. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time and i move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. all time having expired, the question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the resolution passes. ms. slaughter: i'd like the yeas and nays, please, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20, the chair will reduce to five minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on the question of adoption of the resolution. this will be a 15-minute vote.

[captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 290.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 293. the nays are 127. the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the resolution. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the resolution is adopted. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, on that i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 363. the nays are 51. the resolution is adopted.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 367. the nays are 52. the motion -- the resolution is adopted.

without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota rise? mr. ellison: madam speaker, i move that the house do now adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the noes have it. the motion is not agreed to. mr. ellison: i request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] -- correction, this is a 15-minute vote.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are zero, the nays are 419. the motion is not adopted. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky, mr. rogers, seek recognition? mr. rogers: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the consideration of h.r. 152 and that i may have -- may include tab lure material on the same -- tabular material on the same. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. pursuant to house resolution 23 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for h.r. 152.

the chair appoints mrs. capito to preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of h.r. 152 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill to make supplemental appropriations for fiscal year ending september 30, 2013, and for other purposes. the chair: the gentleman from kentucky, mr. rogers, and the gentlewoman from new york, mrs. lowey, will each be recognized for 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rogers: madam speaker, i rise to present legislation providing emergency supplemental funding for

hurricane sandy relief and recovery. the base bill totals $17 billion in crucial funding to meet immediate needs for the victims, businesses and communities devastated by hurricane sandy. since this terrible storm hit, we've come to realize that recovery is going to take months and years, not days and weeks. . this legislation puts the region on the path to recovery by providing the aid needed for immediate relief. we are also analyzing the justifications for further financial aid for long-term relief. that would come in a later supplemental or a regular appropriations bill. a significant portion of the funding in this bill will go to the most direct source of relief and recovery funding available to the victims of the storm, the

fema disaster relief fund, which will provide individual and community assistance throughout the affected region. the bill also will support critical housing and infrastructure needs, ensure repairs to damaged veterans' medical facilities, and help keep the economy moving by funding necessary repairs, small business loans, and recovery aid for businesses of all sizes. my committee thoroughly examined the emergency request, listened to the needs of the people and the region, and assessed the most pressing needs to determine the funding levels paid in this bill.

we crafted this legislation responsibly, giving the administration's request and the senate passed bill a hard scrub to eliminate unnecessary spending. we have removed objectionable provisions added by the senate and have adjusted funding levels to make the best use of taxpayer dollars. as we know, we face precarious fiscal times and it's essential that congress make responsible decisions to ensure efficient and effective spending. taking cues from previous efforts we have included important oversight measures to prevent abuse and ensure that federal agencies are using these funds effectively and appropriately. this is not the first major natural disaster nor

unfortunately will it be the last. one of the great attributes of the american people has been our ability and willingness to come together time and time again to help victims of catastrophes recover. we have seen the havoc that sandy has wrought on the residents of our northeast region, and it is once again our duty to help our people get back on their feet. i urge our colleagues to support this legislation. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: i rise in strong support of this bill and i want to thank chairman rogers, chairman frelinghuysen for taking the lead on this very important legislation. i rise in strong support of the underlying bill with the addition of the frelinghuysen

amendment. it will help families, businesses, and communities affected by sandy recover and rebuild. in the 79 days that have passed since superstorm sandy caused such destruction, i have worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle, with governor cuomo and christie, chairman rogers, mr. king of new york, mr. frelinghuysen, and all our colleagues from affected states to provide long overdue assistance to our regions. sandy devastated much of the northeast and it's one of the costliest natural disasters in our nation's history. 110 americans lost their lives, 8.1 million homes were without power. beaches across new york and new jersey were destroyed. more than 650,000 homes were damaged beyond repair.

sandy ground regional commerce to a halt by making tunnels and our transportation networks impassable. 265,000 businesses in new york alone were severely affected by sandy, costing jobs, paychecks, and billions lost in economic output. there is no excuse for the house not passing the senate bill last congress, but i'm very pleased that the first order of business in the 113th congress may be passing this emergency disaster relief package. along with the 9.7 billion flood insurance bill -- $9.7 billion flood insurance bill the house past a few weeks ago, the frelinghuysen amendment would provide $60 billion of the $80 billion in needs identified by our governors. there are a number of provisions i would like to highlight. $16 billion for community

development block grants to help communities -- community and businesses rebuild. $13 billion to repair and harden transportation infrastructure. $5.35 billion to repair damages and bolster army corps projects to protect against costly future disasters. $11.5 billion for the fema disaster relief fund, which not only helps provide public assistance in the northeast, but also allows fema to continue helping victims of other disasters. $780 million to help businesses open their doors through s.b.a. loans. and $800 million to health and human services initiatives, including repairing head start centers and biomedical research falsilts. while i strongly supported the package -- support it the package is still not perfect. it does not fund the administration's request for

community development block grants. it does not include superior senate language on the flexibility and cost share of army corps projects. and limits funding to health facilities that lost tens of millions of dollars due to the storm. finally, opponents of the legislation who claim that the bill is riddled with so-called pork, and unnecessary provisions are just plain wrong. frankly, anyone who has really read the bill knows there are no earmarks and those who have toured the damage know aid is desperately needed. my colleagues, there were 146 major disaster declarations in the last two years. there isn't a region of the country immune to catastrophe. this package was written with the core belief that when one region suffers destruction by a natural disaster, americans are

proud to help their fellow citizens recover and rebuild. it is imperative that we support this package today, reject amendments that weaken the bill, and prevent the region from recovering as quickly as possible. yield back. the chair: the gentlelady reserves the balance. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: madam speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, a member of our committee, who has been unseesing -- unceasing in his efforts to aid the people of his region. the chair: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for three minutes. mr. frelinghuysen: at the onset i thank the leadership for help bringing this legislation to the floor. i also thank chairman hahl rogers and the appropriations committee for their assistance. one of the untold chapters of this story has been the hard work of the chairman and his staff for preparing both his amendment and mine which

follows. most importantly i want to thank the chairman for his eloquent statement in the rules committee last night. his heartfelt recognition of the hardship and misery suffered by our constituents in the northeast meant a great deal to me personally and to our new jersey, new york, and connecticut delegation. oy also want to offer words of appreciation to my colleagues in new jersey and new york, their bipartisan diligence and dead quation of our staffs over the past several weeks should make all of our constituents proud. and then there's governor christi, my constituent from mars county, whose tireless work has helped us get to this day and will help us get this bill across the finish line. as he always does, he put a very human face on the devastation suffered by families and communities in new jersey and our neighbors in new york and connecticut. my colleagues, people are

hurting. this afternoon in new jersey, new york, and connecticut and other areas of the northeast. the suffering and damage are real. and their needs a great. according to many states, new jersey, new york, connecticut, and the rest of the east coast sustained nearly $100 billion worth of damage. the destruction is staggering. 346,000 household units were damaged in new jersey alone. tens of thousands of our fellow americans are still displaced from their homes and their apartments. municipalities are starting to provide services. many are still under emergency declarations, and some municipalities are not habitible. small businesses are decimated. many small business men and women are trying to key side -- decide if they can survive and keep their employees on the payroll. mr. chairman, the area damaged by hurricane sandy represents roughly 10% of our nation's economy. it makes good sense, economic, and fiscal to get our region back on its feet as soon as it

can. i urge support of the rogers amendment and the frelinghuysen amendment. without these vital measures our constituents in the northeast face nothing but more delay, more uncertainty, more unemployment, and more misery. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: i'm very pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished minority whip who is extimely helpful to all of us on both sides of the aisle in bringing the bill to the floor today. mr. hoyer. the chair: gentleman from maryland is recognized tore two minutes. mr. hoyer: i thank you, madam chair. i thank the ranking member, mrs. lowey, and i thank mr. rogers for his work as well bringing this bill to the floor. i rise not only in support of the chairman's mark at $17 billion, but also for the frelinghuysen amendment. i think both of these together meet our responsibilities in

responding to one of the most historic and damaging storms to hit the country. not only the northeast but to the country. people throughout new york, new jersey, connecticut, and the whole middle atlantic region are still struggling to pick up the pieces after the most devastating storm in years, and congress has a duty to help. i have said before it's never too late to do the right thing. i thought we might do this previously, but now is a good time to act and hopefully today we will act. earlier this month we took action to help ensure the flood insurance benefits will be available for those still recovering from sandy. today, however, we must finish our work and take action on the comprehensive aid package that communities in the northeast need to rebuild. this is not a moment for partisan differs or gimmicks. amending these relief bills will make it harder to get aid to those who need it as soon as

possible. the american people, especially those impacted by sandy, will not look kindly on such delay. congress appropriated $62.3 billion in emergency relief, less than two weeks after hurricane katrina struck new orleans and the gulf coast in 2005. i voted for that. that was the right thing to do. as it was then it is now the right thing to do. there's no reason why the people of new york, new jersey, and affected areas should have to wait any longer. this is a bipartisan effort. when americans are in trouble, in pain, at risk we respond not as republicans, not as democrats, but as americans to their needs. we must pass these relief bills so i urge my colleagues on both sides to oppose any amendments that diminish our ability to provide this much needed assistance. only by setting party aside and coming together as fellow

americans and fellow representatives can we achieve this goal. i urge all my colleagues, not only on my side of the aisle but on the other side of the aisle, to join together to make sure that the relief necessary is given this day to this region for this storm. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from florida, mr. young, the chairman of the defense subcommittee on appropriations, two minutes. the chair: the gentleman from florida is recognized for two minutes. mr. young: mr. chairman, thank you very much for yielding me the time. the emergency funding provided for the army corps of engineers in this bill and the amendment that you offer is narrowly drawn to help the states hardest hit by hurricane sandy. would the gentleman from new jersey, mr. frelinghuysen, the very capable and effective

chairman of the energy and water development subcommittee, yield for a question? mr. frelinghuysen: i yield to you. pleasure. mr. young: despite my earlier comments, i'm concerned that the flood control and coastal emergency funds appropriated by our committee in previous acts are still available for other emergency needs that occurred prior to sandy, and i would appreciate the gentleman's responsible to that. . mr. frelinghuysen: these are funds we believe that are required to respond to emergency needs for the army corps of engineers related to hurricane sandy. by appropriating these funds for this direct purpose, other prior appropriated emergency funds for the corps should remain available for other needs in accordance with the direction provided by those

previous acts. mr. young: mr. chairman, thank you very much for that clarification, and i yield back. mr. rogers: i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: i am very pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished ranking member of the homeland security of appropriations. the chair: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized for two minutes. mr. price: i rise in support of both amendments before us. we in north carolina remember hurricane fran, hurricane floyd, and we know how important it is for congress to extend itself in an hour of need. as ranking member of the homeland security appropriations subcommittee, i note that d.h.s. would receive $5.5 billion within the base $17 billion provision, accounting for only 54% of the administrators' request. also is $6.1 billion in

disaster relief and $3.1 billion in disaster loans. madam speaker, without this additional $6.1 billion, fema estimates that the disaster relief fund will run out of money in may of 2013, halting long-term rebuilding in places like joplin and tuscaloosa. adopting only the $17 billion proposal does not even fully fund current sandy estimates, and anstonnishingly provides no funding for other disasters in 2013. the $17 billion package also shortchanges the coast guard by about half the request and doesn't include fundings requested for i.c.e. or the secret service. now, my republican colleagues say that the supplementry $33 billion package will address my concerns. but requiring separate votes is designed either to doom the second bill or to pass it on the backs of democrats while tea partiers are free to vote no. this is an ever example of

republicans playing politics with disaster aid. members of the coast guard decimated by sandy and firefighters in breezy point trying to rebuild their devastated community. they're saying to their own constituents if disaster strikes, there's no guarantee congress will assist you. this is a dangerous precedent. madam speaker, when i was chairman of this subcommittee from 2011 to 2010, we provided more than $14 billion in emergency disaster relief spending following natural disasters. not once during that process did we ask who was affected, democrats or republicans, red states or blue states. we provided the money based on -- the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. price: i ask for an additional 30 seconds. we gave the money without hesitation because that's what the american people expect and deserve from congress in a time of need. so, madam speaker, i will support both of these amendments. i urge my colleagues to do likewise. the right thing to do, however, would have been to hold a vote on the bipartisan senate

package sent to us back in december, and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: i yield myself three minutes. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. rogers: and i yield to mrs. lowey, the ranking member of the committee, who by the way this is her first appearance on the floor as the new ranking democrat on the full appropriations committee, and i want to initially congratulate her on that position, look forward to a good working relationship with her. and i yield to the gentlelady. mrs. lowey: well, first of all, i want to thank the chairman, mr. rogers, who's been a good friend for so many years. i look forward to working together in a bipartisan way so we can work everything out before and serve the american people, and i thank you for your kind words. i rise to engage the gentleman from kentucky, the chairman of the appropriations committee,

in a colloquy. some questions have been raised about the interpretation of language in both the rogers substitute and the frelinghuysen amendment under the department of health and human services, public health and social services emergency fund. the language prohibits use of amounts in that appropriation for costs that are reimbursed by self-assurance. i'd like to engage chairman rogers in a discussion to help clarify the meaning of that provision. am i correct in understanding that the term self-insurance is intended to refer to a form of plan pursuant to law or regulation in which amounts are set aside in a fund to cover losses of specified types and amounts? am i also correct that without such a formal funded arrangement, an organization would not be considered to be self-insured for purposes of

this language simply because they do not have any commercial insurance coverage for the loss in question? mr. rogers: reclaiming my time. yes, the gentlelady's understanding is correct, and i further yield to her. mrs. lowey: i thank the gentleman. i'd like to confirm my understanding that this language would only proclued use of appropriated funds if the expenses in question were actually reimbursed by the formal self-insurance plan. in other words, merely having a self-insurance plan would not bar you of this appropriation, the things that the plan did not cover or pay for. i ask the gentleman, is my understanding correct? mr. rogers: the gentlelady's understanding is correct. i reserve the balance. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time.

the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: it is a pleasure for me to yield two minutes to ranking member visclosky of the defense appropriations committee. the chair: the gentleman from illinois -- indiana is recognized for two minutes. mr. visclosky: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. i rise today for the support of the underlying bill and the frelinghuysen amendment which will greatly assist the states and communities affected by hurricane sandy. in every year since 1997 with two exceptions, the congress has recognized the need for emergency funds to respond to the impacts of natural disasters or the nation's water infrastructure. the frelinghuysen amendment includes a total of $5 b.p. 35 billion for the army -- $5.35 billion for the army corps of engineers and which repair existing facilities in the

storm and restore projects to design standards. roughly $3.4 billion remaining will be used for the corps for projects intended to reduce future flood risk. additionally, the frelinghuysen amendment provides $88.3 million to repair facility and equipment damage to the department of defense facilities in several states along the eastern seaboard. this is what we should be doing as a nation. it is far less expensive to invest and prevent damage than it is to clean it up. we need to fund projects that result in a long-term sustainability of the impacted communities and reduce the economic costs and risks associated with disaster. madam chair, our country has provided billions of dollars in infrastructure funding for dams, schools and roads in iraq and afghanistan on an emergency basis.

we certainly can do no less for our own citizens in our own country and urge passage of the underlying legislation and chairman frelinghuysen's amendment and yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: madam speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. runyan. the chair: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. mr. runyan: madam chair, i rise in support of h.r. 152, the sdagser relief appropriations act of -- disaster relief appropriations act of 2013. this bill does the minimum necessary to help towns like brick township rebuild. it does the minimum to help remove mold from their living room so they can sleep at night without worrying their children get sick from breathing mold supports. -- spores.

as one of my new jersey colleagues pointed out today, there are more than 30 of my colleagues who received disaster assistance for their own districts in the past and actually plan to oppose this package before us. madam chair, i would say to my friends, why should new jersey and new york be treated any differently? my friends should ask themselves, what would they do if this was their district and suffered the amount of catastrophic loss that many families and businesses in my district now face? next to me, you can see damage sandy left behind from brick township. my constituents in brick have suffered for almost three months without any help from this congress. i want to be able to tell them when i go home this weekend that help is heading their way. and with that i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: madam chair, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished chair, the

ranking member of the financial services and other government programs committee, mr. serrano. the chair: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. serrano: thank you very much. the chair was very nice. i rise in support of both the rogers amendment and the frelinghuysen amendment, which will finally provide new york, new jersey, connecticut and elsewhere for the funding needed to respond to hurricane sandy. while i am glad they were considering this bill today, it is a travesty that it has taken this long for the house of representatives to allow a vote on disaster response funding. the money in this bill and the frelinghuysen amendment is the minimum that new york, new jersey and elsewhere need for their recovery process. i'm very concerned that there are several amendments that will be considered today that seek to cut further funding from the bill. at least one amendment seeks to offset the cost of this bill. our nation has never before attempted to offset the cost of disaster assistance.

the appropriations committee in the house have always come together to help americans in times of need without regard to cost. to offset cost here would effectively kill this bill in the senate and further delay assistance that is desperately needed for new york city and elsewhere. these two -- this two-step process is the proper way to go. i would just add in closing that we in new york have always seen images of disasters in other areas, but we never imagined anything like this happening in our area. we understand what other folks have gone through, and i hope you understand the need we have to recover. the pain, the suffering, the despair that people in our community feel is beyond anything we could i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america or we can imagine in new york. so this aid will at the minimum immediately send a message that we care and we want something to happen positive, and in fact people will begin to recover. and so i thank mr. rogers and mrs. lowey for bringing the

bill to the floor, and i will ask folks to vote for both amendments and for the bill in general. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: madam chair, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from staten island, new york city, mr. grimm. the chair: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. grimm: thank you very much, chairman. i appreciate you yielding. madam chair, let me first start by saying thank you to the many, many colleagues on both sides of the aisle that have been working tirelessly, and a special thank you to their staff, not only the rules committee but appropriations and all those from new york and new jersey. many, many staffers have stayed up more than 24 hours to make this happen, and i am indebted to them and i know the people of staten island are very, very grateful. this is a time that is very unique in our history. we just started tearing down

the homes in staten island. new york is tearing down 200, and they started in staten island. when i was there this past weekend, a mother came up to me and i asked her how she was doing. she said, i'm ok but i'm worried about my children. i said why. she said because they start crying hysterically when it rains. they cry when it rains because they think there's going to be another flood, and they're scared. so at the end of the day when we debate the various amendments in the bill and its merits, all i ask is that everyone in this blessed chamber remember that there are real people, human beings that are behind all this, and at the end of the day, if it was our families, i know that they would want them to be safe and healthy and the support of the entire country behind them.

so with that i thank, again, my colleagues that have worked tirelessly. i thank the staff members, and i thank you for this opportunity to speak and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: madam chair, i'm pleased to give two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from california, george miller. the chair: the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. . mr. miller: i thank the gentlewoman for yielding and i rise to engage the chairman, the gentleman from kentucky, of the appropriations committee, on a colloquy. as the chairman knows, superstorm sandy displaced thousands of children from their homes, leaving them homeless and struggling to regain stability in their lives. many of these children were forced to move out of their school districts while others could not return to their schools because the storm damage.

these children had trauma. fortunately under the current law, the homeless assistant act, homeless student, including those displaced by disasters, are entitled to important educational protections and services including transportation to stay in the same school. public schools in new york, new jersey, connecticut are working tirelessly to support uninterrupted education of displaced children through the program. yet these schools face significant unexpected costs associated with the increased number of homeless students. congress has appropriated supplemental funds to help defer the costs associated with these increase -- these increases from past disasters. mr. chairman, if i might, give than the bill before us today does not contain direct funding for the program, is it your understanding that the intentions of the department of health and human services and the department of education work with the states of new york, new jersey, connecticut to assist the school districts affected by superstorm sandy,

to access funds under the social services block grant to support the education of students displaced by the storm, including the transportation, counseling and supplies? i yield to the gentleman. mr. rogers: i thank the gentleman for yielding. yes. that is my understanding. and intention. as you know, congress previously has recognized the critical role all schools play in creating stability and meeting the educational needs of children and youth displaced by disasters. the flexibility of the ssbg has proven crucial in responding to the many needs that arise in the aftermath of natural disasters. chad: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mrs. lowey: an additional 30 seconds. mr. rogers: transporting displaced students is an allowable service and i encourage h.h.s. and affected states to work with affected

school districts and promptly provide any reimbursements for these critical services. mr. miller: i thank the gentleman very much and i want to thank you and the staff of the majority and minority for helping to work out this solution. thank you very much. chad: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from kentucky. lodge rodge -- mr. rogers: i recognize the gentleman from mississippi, mr. palazzo, for three minutes. chad: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized for three minutes. mr. palazzo: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in favor of the sandy relief package that's being considered today. i want to thank chairman rogers and the appropriations committee for their work to bring this bill to the floor in a responsible manner and address many of the concerns that some in this body had. i also want to take this opportunity once more to thank my colleagues for their work on yesterday's sandy relief improvement act that brought much-needed reforms for our disaster relief system. this bill that passed the house unanimously is a good first step in streamlining the disaster relief process and saving the country money and lives. these are the kinds of

commonsense reforms that must continue to be a part of the disaster relief conversation. a little over a week ago i voted against adding more debt to a failing system without reforms. many might have colleagues joined me in that vote and i know some still have reservations about the package before the house today. i spoke in -- i've spoken to many of these colleagues. i understand concerns about the fiscal state of our nation, i understand your position and respect your vote. but while we continue to do the responsible thing by looking for ways to pay for future disaster relief, we must do what is necessary to help those in the northeast. and we must do it now. let me just say a vote for yesterday's reform package which passed the house unanimously and a vote for today's relief package allows us to move forward in a way that begins to address much-needed reforms while at the same time providing the immediate relief that sandy victims so desperately need. i saw those needs up close and personal when i visited some of the hardest-hit areas of new

jersey and new york last week. it brought back vivid images of hurricane katrina and the destruction that my home state of mississippi experienced seven years ago. districts like those of my friends, congressman runyan and grimm, are similar to those along the gulf coast after katrina. their constituents experienced a terrible natural disaster and they need our help. so today we consider provisions that provide immediate relief for sandy victims while allowing them to build forward, not just back. that will strengthen these communities in the face of future storms. we cannot wait another seven years, we cannot wait until the next disaster before we take up these reforms. today's vote for immediate relief is about giving the sandy victims the help they need now. it is vital to the recovery efforts of the northeast, it is vital to making our communities more resilient and it is vital to ensuring better preparedness and response to future storms. so i urge my colleagues to support the disaster relief

package. i yield back. chad: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: madam chair, i am delighted to yield two minutes to the distinguished dean of the new york delegation, mr. rangel. chad: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. rangel: thank you so much, mrs. lowey. i want to thank chairman rogers for the manner in which he's handled this crises and certainly congratulate mrs. lowey for the leadership that she has divided this house over the years -- provided this house over the years, but especially at the time we needed her the most. that she was there to bring the people together, republicans and democrats, to do the right thing. i want to thank, too, and encourage the new members of congress to take advantage of this great opportunity they have to see what the house of representatives is all about, notwithstanding the bad publicity that we get. for whatever reasons the 11th

congress failed to respond to the feeling -- 112th congress failed to respond to the feeling and fabric of this body, where every american would know that if ever they were involved in a crises, earthquake, flood or fires, they could depend on their colleagues in the house of representatives to respond. it was never a question of whether they were democrats or republicans, whether they came from a red state or a blue state, it was how fast can we help? and you can depend on that help. for whatever the reason the 112th congress failed, but now we ask new members to join with those that were here before in bringing together people in this congress who once again rebuild that reputation -- to once again rebuild that reputation that we had so rightly enjoyed and that is that if you have any type of problem in this great nation and you need the help of your colleagues, you can depend on the house of representatives, the people's house, in coming

forward to provide those aids. we cannot bring back the lives, the homes and the hopes that so many people have lost. but we can say in the people's house we respond to the problems that people have. i thank you again, mrs. lowey, for the leadership you provided and i look forward to working with you and chairman rogers in the future. chad: jat yield -- the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: may i inquire of the time remaining. chad: the gentleman from kentucky has 14 minutes remaining. the gentlelady from new york has 12 1/2 minutes remaining. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from colorado, mr. gardner. chad: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for two minutes. mr. gardner: thank you. i introduced funding for the emergency watershed protection programming to about -- to be used for any area that had a major disaster. apts an important program that allows for watershed and

infrastructure restoration. many parts of the western united states were devastated by wildfires last summer. there were over 100,000 acres of land as well as over 600 homes destroyed in these fires. the program will help communities and others of the united states rebuild and prevent future damage to people and property. unfortunately this bipartisan amendment offered with other members of the colorado delegation did not get through the rules committee process and so it will not be considered on the house floor today. the tragedy caused by hurricane sandy necessitates assistance from the federal government. but it's also important that disaster assistance be available to other areas that experience natural disasters. particularly those when it comes to federal lands. i ask the chairman to consider working with me and other members for wildfire restoration. mr. rogers: will the gentleman yield? mr. gardner: i will yield. mr. rogers: first i want to thank the gentleman from colorado for his work on the emergency watershed program.

i'm aware of the need for this assistance and i look forward to working with you and others to address this important funding in future legislation. mr. gardner: i thank the chairman for his work and support and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: madam chair, i am pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman, mr. moran. the chair: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for two minutes. mr. moran: welcome a new running backing member of the full appropriations committee -- ranking member of the full appropriations committee who also hails from new york and full ynds what's involved here. -- fully understands what's involved here. do unto others as you would

have them do unto you. that's what all the members of this body should ask themselves . if they were in the situation of the states that were so severely impacted by hurricane sandy, how would they vote? the fact is that natural disasters are occurring with more frequency and with greater severity. and so there's a very good chance that in nearly every congressional district in this country this may happen to you. and of course when it does, property values go way down. in fact, billions of dollars can be lost, certainly were with hurricane sandy. so where does the municipality get the money to repair? likewise with the state. the only place you turn to, you can turn to, is the federal

government. that's why we are here. we're in this together. so this is not about the northeast vs. the rest of the country. one part of our body, if you will, of states has been severely injured. we need to repair that damage. now, within the interior and environment appropriations there's money for wastewater and sewer treatment projects, things that haven to be done -- have to be done. we have to provide that money. i think we have about a billion and a half dollars to do that. certainly if we september the rogers-frelinghuysen -- if we accept the rogers-frelinghuysen amendment. and this bill is whole with that amendment which we should strongly support. there's an amendment to require

-- to take away mr. frelinghuysen's effort to allow a waiver on historic preservation. well, yes, it should be done. these localities don't have that kind of money. and a lot of the revenue coming into these economies is coming from tourism. they come to see historic structures. they come to see the way that many parts of the northeast were. when we were building the foundation of this country. that money should be made available in whole with federal dollars. mr. frelinghuysen's amendment is right on point. it needs to be included. so i know i'm getting to -- i've got a good speech written to thank you. we've got wonderful staff. but the fact is this is an opportunity -- mrs. lowey: i'm pleased to yield another minute. mr. moran: another minute. thank you, thank you, madam chair. the fact is that this is an

opportunity to show what we're all about. do unto others as we would have them do unto us. let's make this money available. let the northeast repair itself, heal itself, get that economy back on its feet, start returning revenue to the federal government. the fact is that these northeast states contribute more to the federal treasury than they get out of the federal treasury. so let's get this done. and we want to recognize the chairman rogers' supplemental, the very good work that mr. frelinghuysen from new jersey has done, and of course mrs. lowey. this is a good bill. it's urgent that we pass it. let's get this done. these negative amendments that try to take away money to make ideological points are simply out of order right now. let's heal this wound. let's let this economy and the northeast get back on its feet.

we'll all be better off. thank you, madam speaker. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: i reserve. the chair: the gentleman continues to reserve the balance. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: madam chair, i am very pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from new jersey who's been extraordinarily helpful in trying to sort out the challenges on this bill. mr. andrews. the chair: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. . without objection. mr. andrews: i thank my friend for yielding and i thank the chairman of the appropriations committee and my friend for working together to bring this product to the floor. i've heard two objections to this bill. the first is that it's too -- that money is spent in the wrong places, and the second is the amount of money altogether is too costly. let me try to address those objections. the money being spent in the wrong places, i would respectfully request that members who have an objection

read the legislation, because throughout the legislation when it refers to the money to be spent it says that the moneys to be spent on -- and i'm quoting -- necessary funds related to the consequences of hurricane sandy, end quote. now, there's one exception to this that i read, and it is limited to situations where there were prior disasters that are not yet cleaned up. so this is a bill that deals almost exclusively with the sandy disaster, and to the extent it does not, deals with lingering problems in other parts of the country from those disasters. so those who would argue that the amount of money in the bill is too much to begin with, i would offer you this question. if you're running a business and you had 100 manufacturing plants and sales offices around the country and 15 of them were shut down by a storm, so 15% of your available revenue was no

longer available to you, what would you do? you'd repair those 15 manufacturing facilities and sales offices as quickly as you could in order to restore the health of your company and the growth of your revenue. that is exactly what this bill does. the taxpayers of new york, connecticut and new jersey, three states, contribute more than 15% of the individual and corporate tax revenues collected in the united states of america. 15% from three states. if you shut down that engine of production, the whole country suffers. i would ask the gentlelady for 30 more seconds. i thank the gentlelady. this is an occasion for the house of representatives to rise above normal parochial politics. when the disaster struck the gulf, we were all mustians or

lanans. when -- mississippiians or louisianans. when there have been earthquakes that hit the west coast of the country, we were all citizens of california. we're asking members from coast to coast throughout our country today to walk in the shoes of new yorkers and citizens of connecticut and new jersey. if we understand that we have a common purpose, that this legislation does focus almost exclusively on the sandy disaster and then focus what it does not focus on sandy on other disasters and we understand that 15% of the economic engine of this country is at risk of being shut down, then we will all be people who cast the same vote and the right vote which is yes. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: reserve my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: madam chair, i am delighted to yield one minute

to our distinguished leader and who has been such an advocate for the assistance to new york, new jersey, connecticut and pennsylvania, understanding that every part of the country has catastrophes and we as americans have a responsibility, and i thank you for your leadership. the chair: the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. pelosi: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. i congratulate her on assuming the ranking position on the appropriations committee and how good it is for our country and to the people affected by hurricane -- superstorm sandy that congresswoman lowey, now ranking member lowey, is in the position to fight for their needs as the senior democrat on the appropriations committee. thank you for your leadership, and thank you, mr. rogers, for yours as well.

this should be a day that we shed all of our disagreement about political differences and the rest and come together to prayerfully meet the needs of the people of our country. whether it's california with earthquakes, drought, fire, flood, whatever, whether it was iowa with the floods, missouri was so affected, joplin, of course katrina, emblazoned in our mind, and hurricane ike on the heels of that, we all across the country have experienced natural disasters which have had a direct impact on the lives of the american people. i really do believe that for all the purposes that people send us to congress or elect us to public office, whether it's county executive or a member of

congress, is they expect us to do what is right for them when they are in most need of our help. many things we can do for ourselves, but some things are just beyond the most determined resourceful -- determined, resourceful, operational people can do and that is when a natural disaster strikes. so while we have had our conversations about what should be in the bill and how the bill should be bifurcated or in this case trifurcated and all the rest, when we have this vote today it will sweep away some of the concerns that people have about whether this assistance is going to actually show up. 79 days, 79 days since hurricane sandy struck the region. last year it was irene that

struck much of the same area. some of the people haven't really fully recovered from that. whether it was the small business owner or homeowner or whatever, and now sandy. such a tremendous force. others have talked about, how do you mitigate for such a thing? how do you address issues related to climate change? we'll save that conversation for another day but recognize its importance in this discussion. how do you mitigate for rebuilding? and that's important in terms of the resources that we're putting to bear on this problem. so let us today try to extract from the minds and the hearts and souls of the people who are affected any thought that the assistance will not be there. they know there's a lot of making up they have to do to restore the lives and businesses and homes that they had before.

they should also know that when we say let us pray for the victims of hurricane sandy, we're just not saying a prayer and say that should be a substitute for us honoring our commitment as a country to our people but that our prayers are accompanied by our best intentions and our best actions , not just words, for them. this is one of the longest delays in congressional action in response to a major natural disaster in recent history. for many of us, again, whoever seen or can confirm the aftermath of a hurricane or tornado and earthquake, whatever, we know that every single day is too long to wait. hope can never come fast enough. we cannot let another moment, hour, day go by without giving the biggest possible vote of confidence and hope to the people of new york, new jersey,

connecticut and some, i understand, in pennsylvania. so we had our say. we made our points known. the justification has been established. the documentation of need is clear. the bipartisan support of the governor of new jersey, the governor of new york, the governor of connecticut and others stands ready to implement these resources with the most integrity, the most effectiveness, certainly the -- witness the action of the mayor of new york. i smile when i say that because mayors, they just like to get a job done. and governors too. so let us as these executives and county executives and the rest weigh in, let us do our part to honor the social compact that we have of the american people that the federal government will be

there at a time of a natural disaster, that this is an emergency and we recognize it so and that we honor the hopes, dreams, aspirations of the people affected. so i hope we can have an overwhelming, bipartisan vote because from a practical standpoint -- i think ideally, and with our sense of idealism, that would be the right thing to do. but as a practical matter we just never know what mother nature may have in store for you in your region, and you would certainly want the embrace of the entire nation around you in your area for your constituents, for your community, for our country. so i urge a very strong bipartisan vote. i thank our colleagues on both sides of the aisle for making this vote today possible and urge, again, an aye vote and yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: i reserve the balance of my time.

the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: i'm very pleased to yield three minutes to mr. crowley of new york whose district has really seen incredible damage. he understands the impact of hurricane sandy and the people, the community and the businesses. mr. crowley. the chair: the gentleman from new york is recognized for three minutes. mr. crowley: i thank the gentlelady for yielding much such time. in the days following superstorm sandy, many of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle reached out to me and i think they did the same throughout the quad state region, expressing their sympathies and the concern. while they weren't able to see firsthand the devastation, everyone had a sense, i think, of that devastation by the footage they saw on television

and over the internet. it was pretty powerful. everyone i think was astonished of the magnitude. we are not used to having such disasters in new york city. as everyone was shocked to see the extent of damage, homes literally wiped away, businesses destroyed, floodwaters consuming people's living rooms and completely overturning their lives. and the damage wasn't just in one city or one town or for that matter one state. from breezy point, queens to edgewater, in my district in the bronx, from manhattan to brooklyn to staten island to westchester, to long island, from the coasts of pennsylvania, new jersey, all the way over to connecticut, so many people's lives were wrecked by this powerful storm. while words are kind and they're very much appreciated,

action behind those words are even more appreciated. today finally i believe we'll have the opportunity to see action. 79 days later and far too much politics in between, this congress is doing what the people of the -- these communities need and what the american people demand, taking action. i'm thankful to this congress. i'm thankful that it's finally taking the action to help the people of my district and the millions of other people hit hard by this enormous storm. i want to thank all of my colleagues from new york, new jersey, connecticut and pennsylvania for our shared commitment to getting this done and never letting partisanship surrounding this debate divide us. a special thanks to democratic whip steny hoyer and ranking member nita lowey as well as along with their staffs who have driven this process from day one. i want to thank you both. this bill will provide district

assistance to communities devastated by superstorm sandy and would help restore and replace damaged or destroyed infrastructure and will put in place cost saving measures to prevent further damage when, when and not if future storms occur. i would just urge any of my colleagues, democrat or republican, who are considering voting against either the frelinghuysen amendment or the overall bill to just for a moment put yourself in one of your colleague's shoes. i don't wish superstorm sandy or anything like it on any of my colleagues anywhere in the united states, but the one thing you need to know is that if this happens that your country will be there for you. the damage physical -- the physical damage, but also the mental damage that people are experiencing because they think that the country has forgotten. don't forget these people. do the right thing. vote for this bill. the chair: the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: i reserve the balance of my time.

the chair: the gentleman from kentucky reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: madam chair, i'm very pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from a neighboring district in new york who suffered a great deal. he saw the pain and the loss of property and homes all throughout the region, mr. engel. the chair: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. engel: well, thank you. i thank my dear friend, congresswoman lowey, for yielding to me. i urge all of our colleagues to support the aid for the hurricane sandy victims. . we have a lot of disagreements in this congress. we talk about a lot of issues, about spending, taxing, offsets, whatever. those are issues, those fights on those issues should be left for another day. it shouldn't be intermixed with the fight to get money to

superstorm sandy victims. they shouldn't be innocent pawns in this fight we have in congress. i've been in this congress for a while now and i have voted for aid for all regions of our country. be it katrina, be it floods and tornadoes. we didn't even think twice because that is what americans do. we help other communities, help other americans. and there are natural disasters. we do it because it's the thing we have to do. now it's our turn. now we need help. now we say to the rest of america, please help us the way we helped you in your hour of need. the constituents in my district, in westchester and the bronx and my former district in rockland county are hurting very, very much. these are real people with real lives and real difficulties.

so i beg my colleagues, please. don't vote for any poison pills that will kill this legislation . one of the things that's really irksome when some of my colleagues who stood up, when they had natural disasters in their district, begged us for help and we gave to them now. are voting against giving help to the people of new york, new jersey, connecticut and pennsylvania. it's just not right. we can argue what role the federal government should play, whether it's too big or too small or whatever. but no one should argue against the fact that when americans are in need, the federal government has a role in stepping in and helping them and providing for their needs. that's all we're asking for today. i urge my colleagues to support all the aid for hurricane sandy and to reject any of the amendments that were taken away. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: madam chairman, i have no further requests for

time. i'm prepared to close if the gentlelady is. mrs. lowey: that's fine. the chair: the gentlelady from new york has 30 seconds remaining. mrs. lowey: mr. chairman, i'll respond in 30 seconds and then defer. mr. chairman, i'd like to again thank you and mr. freelien hughesen for your -- frelinghuysen for your hard work on this bill and i'd like to address all those who aren't sure about how they're going to vote on this bill and i would like to clarify. the way this appropriation works. when you have huge disasters, transit systems, tunnels, thousands of homes that have to be repaired, you need that money committed before you can engage any contractor, any bill that's in a contract. now, as you and i know, mr. chairman, we worked a long time on that committee and before a dollar goes out, the person has to be responsible for every

dollar that is committed, that they spent and that they're going to spend. so we're not just writing an open check. we're just not opening our checkbook. we're responding to these tremendous needs and i do hope we can get a bipartisan vote for this effort. thank you, madam chair. the chair: the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: madam chairman, i urge an adoption of the rogers amendment and yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. all time for general debate has expired. pursuant to the rule, the bill should be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule the amendment in the the nature of a substitute printed in part a of house report 113-1. that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. no amendment to that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except the amendment printed in part b of house report 113-1. after disposition of that amendment, the chair shall put to the question on the amendment in the nature of a

substitute. if the amendment in the nature of a substitute is printed in part a of house report 113-1, accompanying house resolution 23, is not adopted, the committee shall rise and report that it has come to no resolution on the bill. if the amendment in the nature of a substitute is adopted, the amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as the original bill for the purposes of the bill. no further amendment shall be in order except amendments printed in part c of the house report 113-1. at the conclusion of consideration of the amendments printed in part c of house report 113-1, the committee shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adeparted. any member may demand a separate vote in the house or any amendment adopted in the committee of the whole to the bill, to the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in part a of house report 113-1, or to amendment number 1 printed in part c of house report 113-1. each amendment printed in part b and part c of house report

113-1 may be offered only in the order printed in the report, maybe offered only by a maybe dess -- may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report, equally divided and controlled been the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to an amendment except as specified in how it's report 113-1 and shall not be subject to the demand for division the of the question. -- of the question. it is now in order to consider amendment number 1 printed in part b of house report 11-1. for what purpose does the gentleman from -- 113-1. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: part b amendment printed in house report 113-1, offered by mr. mull veiny of south carolina -- mull veiny of south carolina. the chair: the gentleman from south carolina, mr. mulvaney, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from south carolina. mr. mulvaney: thank you, madam

chair, thank you for the opportunity. i'll make it very clear what this amendment is and what this amendment is not. this amendment is not about delay. this amendment is not about offering a poison pill to the underlying bill. this amendment is not about preventing money from going where it is very desperately needed. i want that to happen. i want these folks who need this money to get it. i live in an area that is hurricane-prone. i have lived through hurricanes myself. i have lived through flood mize self. i have waited -- my -- floods myself. i have waded through chest-high water to get into my own bills. i have been able to take advantage of and to use, to rebuild a small business, a small business disaster loan. i want the money to go where it needs to go. i'm here for one reason and one reason only today, madam chair, and that is to talk about how we can pay for it. that's it. there was a time when we didn't have to have this conversation. there was a time back during hurricane hugo in the late

1980's when we didn't have to talk about how to pay for disaster assistance because the deficit was only $3 trillion. but we've so badly mismanaged our money after that, by the time we got to hurricane katrina in 2005, that we actually did start talking about offsetting and paying for disaster relief and paid for and offset about 40% of it. but we didn't learn. we didn't learn from those mistakes and we've continued to mismanage our money and to run up our deficit to such a point now where we're at $16 trillion today and it's incumbent upon us to have the discussion about whether or not we have the money to do this. and whether or not it's important enough to us to pay for it. i wish very much that we weren't here today. i wish very much that we could pass this and easily borrow the money, without any questions whatsoever. but we've wasted that opportunity. we've mismanaged our own finances to the point where we are now no longer capable of taking care of our own.

think about that for a second. in the united states of america we do not have enough money to take care of our own citizens who need it. there's no rainy day fund. there's no savings. what ability we had to borrow money we plue through several years ago with trillion-dollar deficits. we don't have enough money saved up to take care of our own people and that's wrong. it's absolutely wrong. it is important to me that this money goes to the folks who need it very badly. it's so important to me that i think we should pay for it. i think we should be willing as a body to come together and say, look, there are things that we do not need this year, things that we can do without this year so that the people in new york and new jersey and connecticut and the other state who so badly need the money can have it without us having to go hat in hand to other nations of this world and say, would you please lend us money so that we can take care of our folks who need it so badly? i hope the amendment passes.

i hope the amendment passes so that i can vote for the bill. i want this money to go where it is so desperately needed. but the time has come and gone in this nation when we can walk in here one day and spend $9 billion or $17 or $60 billion and not think about who's paying for it. this is important money. it's important to you, it's important to me, it's important to everyone in here. but it's important enough for to us pay for it our sefts. and for that reason he encourage passage of this amendment and pass and ultimately of the underlying bill. with that i'll yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock. mr. mcclintock: it seems we've lost the battle over all the nonemergency, non-sandy money in this measure. the question now is whether we're going to spend $50 billion without even pretending that we can pay for it. mr. mulvaney's amendment proposes that we recognize that our government is facing a fiscal crisis of unprecedented dimensions and at least pay for

the $17 billion in the rogers bill. now, i don't like across the board d cuts which feed our highest priorities. but the rules committee disallowed mr. mulvaney's specific offsets like repealing remaining tarp fund and ending bonuses to federal employees who take transit to work. and the fact is, if members believe that a 1.6% cut to discretionary cuts are draconian, they should be just as leery of a 1.6% increase in spending to pay for nonemergency, non-sandy-related programs in the rogers bill. the last 10 years inflation population has grown 39%, our revenues have grown 37%, but our spending has grown 64%. in light of that, a 1.6% cut to pay for this bill, which we're assured is our highest priority, seems like a very modest measure. i yield back. mr. mulvaney: i'd like to yield

45 seconds to the gentlelady from wyoming. mrs. lummis: thank you, madam chairman. without question, the victim of sabbedsy deserve -- victims of sandy deserve relief. and we should give it to them in a way we can afford. if we can't do a 1.6% reduction in spending, how are we going to deal with a $16 trillion debt? my own state of wyoming is cutting spending 6.5% across the board right now to balance the budget. because revenues didn't materialize that have materialized in the past. and it's very doable. we in this house cut our own budget 11.4% in the period of two years. this house has not missed beat. not a single member was hurt by that. 1.6% reduction in federal spending to pay for these victims' benefits that deserve

this money is the right thing to do. thank you, madam chairman. i yield back. in support of the mulvaney amendment. mr. mulvaney: i'll reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky rise? mr. rogers: to claim the time in opposition. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. rogers: madam chair, i recognize myself for three minutes. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. rogers: our people in the northeast are facing a struggle of historic proportions. many have seen their homes, their livelihoods, their communities decimated beyond belief. it's the federal responsible and in fact our responsibility as human beings to help those victims in this unexpected catastrophe. in doing so, we must expend some federal dollars. i don't think spending this money lightly, our country faces a deficit crisis as the gentleman from south carolina has said, a deficit crisis of huge proportions.

with an economy that's fighting to recover, and any expenditure must be weighed against all other needs facing our nation. now, i don't take the backseat to anyone when it comes to cutting spending. since i have chaired this committee, the last two years we've cut $100 billion off of discretionary spending. two years in a row going on a third. that's not happened since world war ii. so i know where i speak. in this case, madam chair, the needs are very desperately clear. we must provide this emergency funding as we are allowed by law without the devastating slash and burn cuts elsewhere that this amendment would cause. the amendment before us would splash nearly $20 billion from discretionary spending this year alone, totally indiscriminant, unspecific, cutting the good and the bad, completely abdicating the responsibility of congress to

determine where spending should or should not occur. to put this in perspective, this amendment contains a cut to regular discretionary spending that is about the size of the entire agriculture discretionary budget for the year. it's about the equivalent of eliminating all discretionary funding for the department of transportation or the full annual budgets of the coast guard and customs and border patrol combined. as written this amendment is an across the board d cut that holds no programs safe from harm, defense spending, which is already facing potentially devastating sequestration cuts is cut by another $10 billion, it would cut war funding by $1.6 billion, directly affecting our troops who are putting their lives on the line in afghanistan and other areas of conflict. this amendment also cuts fund for our veterans -- funding for

our veterans, $200 million, potentially endangering the quality of their care and manging the statement that congress is willing to go back on commitments to our vets. . and the list goes on. finally, this amendment goes against the precedent of previous emergency supplementals which did not contain these extreme offsets. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. rogers: i yield myself 30 seconds. the chair: additional 30 seconds. mr. rogers: i believe there are times when a disaster simply goes beyond our ability to offset. hurricane sandy is one of those times. i urge a defeat of the amendment. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time.

mr. rogers: i yield one minute to the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: i rise in strong opposition to the mulvaney amendment. it would make indiscriminate across-the-board cuts. it would create a $1.2 billion shortfall in military pay. take $529 million from military health care. $1.4 billion support for our troops in afghanistan. the joint chiefs of staff say we are on the brink of creating a hallow force. it would also cut care for wounded warriors after they come home, reducing veterans' medical services by more than $888 billion. and here at home the bill would eliminate $650 million in funds to repair, expand highways and bridges. it would cut more than 139,000 low-income infant, infant and children from the w.i.c. program. it would take money away from the national institutes of

research and health. on many occasions, democrats and republicans came together to meet these urgent need caused by major disasters in all the parts of the nation. we didn't say we must first cut support of our armed forces and veterans and reduce investments in research. let's not do that now. the chair: the gentleman from south carolina. mr. mulvaney: i don't like across the board cuts. they were ruled out of order, my other amendment. just tell me what you're willing to do without? are we willing to do without anything so people can get the money this year? that's what i'm looking for from my colleagues across the aisle. are there no savings, are there no reductions that we can replace this year so these folks can get this money? with that i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: i yield the balance of the time to mr. visclosky of indiana. the chair: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for 30

seconds. mr. visclosky: i appreciate the chairman for yielding. i conclude by saying, i mention we have a crisis. we do have a crisis. a crisis of indecision in this chamber. we're under a continuing resolution. this committee is not allowed to completist work. that creates defisheses at the department of defense, endangering our security. the chairman talked about the impact on across the board cuts and sequestration and now we're going to pile on with more cuts. the fact is the goal the gentleman is looking for is not going to happen. i would simply give you one example. by stringing out acquisition, you increase the cost to the american taxpayer. i would ask my colleagues to oppose this amendment. the chair: all time has expired. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from south carolina. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. the amendment is not agreed to. mrs. maloney: madam chair, i would ask for a -- mr. mulvaney: madam chair, i

would ask for a recorded vote. the chair: those in favor of taking this vote by a recorded vote shall rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, the chair will reduce to five minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on the question of adoption of the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in part a of house report 113-1. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this vote, the yeas are 162, the knows are 258. the knows have it. the amendment is not adopted. the question is on the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in part a of house report 113-1. those in favor say aye. those opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair the yeas have it, the amendment is agreed to. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: i request a recorded vote. the chair: a recorded vote is requested. those in favor of taking this

vote by recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the ayes have 327, the nos are 91, the ayes have it, the amendment is adopted.

chad: the house will be in order. member -- the chair: the house will be in order. members are requested to take their conversations elsewhere. the committee will be in order.

the committee will be in order. members are advised to take their conversations outside the chamber. the chair would like to recognize the gentleman from new

jersey once the committee is in order. it is new in -- it is now in order to consider amendment number one printed in part c of house report 113-1. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment number one printed in house report 113-1, offered by mr. frelinghuysen. the chair: pursuant to the rule the gentleman from new jersey and a member opposed each will control five minutes. mr. frelinghuysen: i would -- i yield myself one minute. the chair: if the gentleman will

suspend. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. frelinghuysen: i yield myself one minute. the chair: without objection. mr. frelinghuysen. -- mr. frelinghuysen: hurricane sandy hit 78 tais ago and caused unprecedented destruction, $100 billion in new york and nige air loan. my amendment supplements from rogers' in order to bring the total aid package to $60 billion, the amount requested by the president and endorsed by governors chrisest tee, cuomo -- christie, cuomo and malloy. this strips owl provisions in the senate that were deemed earmarks and all authorizing language. i'll close by reminding my colleagues of the proud tradition of congress cited in the recent letter cited by in

the letters many of us received by the governors of the states affected. the house is not in order. the chair: the gentleman is correct. the committee is in the in order. the gentleman deserves the right to be heard. the gentleman is recognized. mr. frelinghuysen: ma cham chair new york late december -- madam chair, the governors wrote congressional members, the delegations of our three states have been there to provide critical votes to these aid packages because that's what america is all about. when one of us is in need we step up to the plate to lend a helping hand. madam chair, it's time to lend that helping hand. i urge support of my amendment and reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from new jersey reserves the balance of his time. who seeks recognition? the gentlelady from new york. for what purpose does the gentlelady seek recognition? >> madam chairwoman i rise in

strong support of the amendment offered by mr. friend. the chair: does the gentlelady claim time in opposition? >> no. mr. frelinghuysen: i yield to the ranking member of the house appropriations committee from new york, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. >> madam chair, i rise in strong support of this amendment offered by mr. frelinghuysen. i cannot emphasize enough how critical these funds are to our region. mrs. lowey: i know there are many different viewpoints in this house and many different positions on the issues we consider here but madam chairwoman, i think we can all agree that the federal government has a fundamental and critical role when disasters of this magnitude strike. no state can do it alone. a federal response is essential.

my colleagues, i commend mr. frelinghuysen on his amendment today and strongly urge swift passage. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. frelinghuysen: i yield one minute to my colleague and friend, chris smith. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: i thank the gentleman. gaps in insurance coverage and the realization that there will be major tax receipt losses from towns that have had their tax bases eviscerated, in states reeling from a body blow with no precedent has led to crippling shortfalls, we call them gaps, in needed aid. the free i think hughesen amendment fills those gaps. public infrastructure will get a huge boost and there will be economic revitalization. i have lost count of the number

of my constituents who didn't have flood insurance on their home or condition have an adequate amount. compounding the problem, many have upside down mortgages and need help. the frelinghuysen amendment offers buyouts and home elevate and provides critical money for the army corps of engineers. where the army corps has had projects in place, madam speaker, we have seen a mitigation of the amount of dodge to infrastructure and homes. we need this to protect homes, businesses and of course to help the homeowners themselves. the chair: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. frelinghuysen: i'm pleased to yield to the gentleman from new york, mr. king. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. king: i thank the gentleman for yielding. let me commend congressman free i think hughesen for the outstanding job he has done on

this amendment and throughout the cry sess. i am proud to stand with governor cuomo, mayor bloomberg, governor christie, all the members of the connecticut, new york and new jersey delegations. there has been no disaster that needs aid more than sandy. every earmark is out, every dollar is accounted for. i walked through my neighborhood, i see people who loster that homes. this is not make believe. i'm proud to say that this bill is absolutely essential. i was there for every supplemental appropriation bill. i was proud to do it and more proud to stand with congressman frelinghuysen today. i yield back me balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from oregon seek registration recognition? >> to claim time in opposition. the chair: without objection. >> i am not opposed but i ask unanimous consent to claim time in opposition in order to yield

it to my friend from new jersey because there are important messages to be be heard. mr. frelinghuysen: i thank the gentleman for that courtesy and highly appreciate. i yield a minute to my colleague who represents rural new jersey, congressman lobiondo for a minute. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute.

mr. lobiondo: chairman rogers thank you forget us to this point. to my colleagues from disaster -prone states, states that have had disasters in the past who are supporting us, thank you very much. to my colleagues from states who have had disasters some recently, who have decided that we need to change the rules of the game, shame on you. what does the missry index have to get to for our constituents? a new caucus should be formed. it should be the hypocritical caucus because when you wanted the money five minutes before the storm was over, you didn't have any hesitation coming to us and yes i'm angry. you are changing it for thousands of people. do the right thing as we have always done for you. thank you. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from new jersey is

recognized. mr. frelinghuysen: i'm pleased to yield a minute to mr. grimm of staten island. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. grimm: i would like to give a special thanks to mr. frelinghuysen who has been an incredible stalwart and i want to echo the sentments of my good friend from new jersey. i'm going to ask everyone who is going to take this vote to consider what we are -- what are we really doing in this chamber. we aren't voting as republicans or democrats or as individuals, but voting as americans and the last time i checked the constitution, that constitution was to protect all of us, the welfare of this great united states. please remember that when you cast your vote today. these are americans in need that are counting on us to stand up and do the right thing, regardless of whether you are from a state that has had disasters or not.

when america is calling and america lends that hand. that's who we are. make me proud today and support this amendment. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. frelinghuysen: i yield a minute to representative from new york state, carolyn maloney. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for a minute. mrs. maloney: i thank the gentleman for yielding and for his really extraordinary bipartisan leadership on this issue with nita lowey and others from the northeast region. this is truly a bipartisan amendment with bipartisan devotion and commitment. the chairman has worked his heart out on this. and he has given his all to make this happen with great intelligence and commitment to address the real need and the

suffering of the people. struck by the second-most economically devastating natural disaster in our nation's history . people lost their homes, their cars, their jobs. in some cases, their entire neighborhoods and there should not be different standards for different storms or for different regions. we are all one country. we were there when other states and regions suffered hurricanes, tornadoes. we need you to be there with the northeast region today. this is a bipartisan effort. the standards should not be different. and we were there for you. we need you to be there for the northeast. the chair: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. frelinghuysen: i recognize mr. lance from new jersey for a minute. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lance: i rise in support of

congressman frelinghuysen's amendment and thank him, chairman rogers and our leadership for all they have done to move this issue forward. i speak today not as a resident of new jersey, not as a northeasterner, but as an american. this nation has, in times of natural disasters, come together as one. in support of those in need. thousands upon thousands of our country men and women are in need from sandy's devastation. a horrific occurrence in the state i love. i ask all of my colleagues to join in support of mr. frelinghuysen's amendment and i thank all of those on the republican and the democratic side of the i'll for their -- aisle for their support today. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. frelinghuysen: i recognize

mr. serrano from new york for one minute. the chair: the gentleman from new york is recognized for one minute. mr. serrano: i thank the gentleman for your time and i thank you for your leadership on this. you worked very hard to make this a bipartisan bill and bipartisan amendment. i stand in support of it. folks in new york need a lot of help. your amendment speaks to the small business community. it speaks to g.s.a.'s need to do repairs to buildings that service those communities, otherwise costly leases would have to take place to provide working space for federal employees. the details of your amendment speak to many of the needs that we have in the community right now. and that's why i rise in support of it, in support of your efforts and make this a bipartisan effort. and i thank you for your support of so many people in need, not only in your state, and connecticut and my state of new

york. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from fluge. mr. frelinghuysen: i yield one minute to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. runyan. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. runyan: thank you, madam chair, and i rise today in support of the frelinghuysen amendment. we must pass this amendment to ensure that hard-working men and women in communities like tom's river, get the resources they need to get back on their feet. many of my constituents completely lost their homes. others lost power and heat in their homes for over a month. and many, like this home here, haven't been permitted back to their homes two months later. make no mistake, my constituents have suffered and have seen the communities they have grown up incompletely destroyed. i urge passage of the frelinghuysen amendment.

and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. frelinghuysen: i'm pleased to recognize the gentleman from new jersey for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sires: this unprecedented storm has hurt new jersey to the tune of 41,000 people. 41,000 families are currently impacted. over 300 municipalities have been impacted in new jersey. thousands of families who lived in houses in the area -- they have to live in basements -- have no place to go. here we are three months later and still battling over money. this is for people who are hurting. this is for states like new

jersey, new york and connecticut who are donor states who send money to the federal government. when we have money for the wars -- we have destroyed the infrastructure in iraq and we put billions of dollars to fix the infrastructure in iraq. we put billions of dollars in afghanistan. this is for the american in this country who has been hurt by the storm that is unprecedented. my friends, we have to work together to get money to the people so they can start their lives over again. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. frelinghuysen: i recognize the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pascrell, for one minute. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. pascrell: we either act now or we wait for the consequences of the terrible silence of the decent and both sides can work together, it can be done, not

only on this issue but many other issues. this was a tragedy. when you visit each town be it in long island or staten island or hoboken, fort lee, what's the sign you look for? water line. that's the sign. what is the water line of our conscience, of our goodwill in having double standards for different storms? we have never done that before as a nation. and we shouldn't now do it to true believers who think one way or the highway. this must be passed today. i commend mr. frelinghuysen, mr. rogers, knita lowey. thank you for putting your task forward in a priority and we are going to pass this today.

congratulations, mr. frelinghuysen. mr. frelinghuysen: i yield a minute to mr. crowley of new york. the chair: the gentleman from new york is recognized for one minute. mr. crowley: i have never in my 14 years spoken from this side of the aisle. i do it today not as a gimmick, but as part of my plea to my republican colleagues, all of us, not to act as democrats or republicans. people are suffering throughout the northeast and continue to do so. mr. frelinghuysen's amendment is one that will give assurance to the people of the quad-state region that the federal government will be with them throughout this crisis and will be there when everyone else has forgotten, the federal government will be there. the devastation is enormous and the level of psychological damage is enormous and we only know the tip of the iceberg and we don't know yet what will come. this amendment will give peace

of mind to americans who are suffering today, americans, just like all of us today, are suffering than, and they are looking to our congress, not red, not blue, not republican, not democrats, just americans helping americans. that's what this amendment and this bill is about. i thank the gentleman from new jersey for yielding me this minute. the chair: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. frelinghuysen: i recognize ms. clarke from new york state for a minute. the chair: the gentlelady from new york is recognized for one minute. chearkcheark i thank the -- mr. clarke: i thank the gentleman for the time and i appreciate the frelinghuysen amendment which ensures the package and jump start a recovery for the families and businesses in the affected

four-state region. i represent a quaint bunka -- bungalow community which was deluged during the event known as superstorm sandy. this is a working-class community, real solid americans, who have played by the rules all of their lives, and now their homes have been moved off of their foundations by the sheer force of this storm. we've got their backs ks that we are there as their representatives in time of need. i want to thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, in particular those from the affected region for their advocacy on behalf of the people who have been victimized by sandy. thank you.

the chair: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. frelinghuysen: i yield myself the balance of the time. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. frelinghuysen: i do have a point of clarification before i yield back my time. the amendment includes 22 billion 220,000 for the federal highway administration's emergency relief program. it's our intent $the 100 million cap applies to only the funds in this act and not to previous emergencies. in closing, madam chairman, as i said earlier, i ask all members to lend the northeast a hand, help us put the lives and families and communities back in good order, those that have suffered, continue to suffer, as had personal misery and loss, and we remember them as we pass this bill today, and i want to thank all the members for stepping forward to be

supportive of this legislation. and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. all time has expired. it is now in order to consider amendment number 2 in part b of house report 11-3 -- 1. . for what purpose does the gentleman rise? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment number two, printed in house report 113-1, offered by mr. flores of texas. the chair: pursuant to clause c, the gentleman from texas and a member opposed each will control five minutes. mr. flores: thank you, madam chair. i rise in spoth of my amendment,

let me tell you what this amendment is not. it is not a poisoned pill designed to stop funding for sandy relief. it is not an amendment designed to delay aid to sandy victims. it is not an amendment designed to stop the much-needed aid to sandy victims. all the amendment does is stopped the -- is stops the ability to allow a crisis to be used by the white house to fund executive order 547 to zone the oceans. funding could be used for purposes like this. you can see that none of the money used for this program would be used to help sandy relief. that's just an example of what it would do. according to the noia website, the regional part for theship grant program was developed to

include partnerships. executive order 547, set out in the president's final policy of the interagency ocean task force, back to the executive order. this amendment is essentially the same amendment passed in the c.j.s. that was part of the c.j.s. appropriations bill that passed by a bipartisan vote of 246-142 last may. we can all agree that ocean planning is a good thing. however that needs to be done through the normal appropriations process, when approved by congress, not through an executive order by the president. the natural resources committee has held hearings under the leadership of chairman doc casey to ask where they're getting the funding to implement national ocean policy. they have not responded with avepbses to that. and now they're using this crisis as a way to come up with funding of $150 million and basically fund all of these

agencies in the president's effort to zone the oceans. we think that that's inappropriate. again, this is not to stop sandy aid, it's not to delay sandy aid, it's not to be a poison till pill for sandy aid. it's only designed to stop fund, the use of this crisis to fund a program that congress did not intend to have an affect. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> i rise to claim time in opposition. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. frelinghuysen: i'm pleased to recognize the congressman from new jersey. the chair: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for three minutes. >> thank you, madam chair and chairman frelinghuysen.

mr. runyan: the regional grants program wasest tablied in 2004 to help prevent damages from future natural disasters in coastal states. it is not part of president obama's national ocean policy this program is supported but to a competitive grant program first authorized by president bush in 2004. to support urgent coastal needs. this program is also vol tear and state-led with individual states opting into the program. in the areas hardest hit by hurricanes in the mid atlantic region, the council that was established by the mid atlantic governors in 2009, these governors worked together to address the coastal issues and address risk. state universities like rutgers university in new jersey worked to coordinate with states to determine how best to mitigate future disaster risks. the reassurance association of america has written an amendment

due to concern about the risk. this program is not part of president obama's national ocean policy and was established by president bush. i thank you and yield back the remainder of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. flores -- mr. flores: i thank mr. runyan for his mind but this program was changed beginning with the obama administration to fund executive order 13547. if you read -- if you go to the noia budget request, it says the regional ocean partnership grants program will establish a competitive grant program to support regional ocean partnerships to help support the development and implementation of priority actions in regional ocean partnerships. support will include the development of comprehensive marine coastal plans, i.e.,

executive order 13547. yes, this program was around in the bush administration but it's changed. now they're using sandy relief as a methodology to fund this program which was never authorized directly by congress. the resulting -- there were two rounds of grants in 2012 that were -- two rounds of grant requests granted by noia in 2012. only one went to a state and that was to the state of hawaii department of business, economic development, tourism and ocean planning. here the n.g.o.'s that did get money from this. the nature conservancy, the university of hawaii the south carolina sea grant consortium and others. but not to states. only one went to a state and that was the state of hawaii. again, this is an inappropriate use of funding. the inappropriate use of funding in the middle of a crisis to carry out something this

congress has never authorized. the chair: the gentleman reserves. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. frelinghuysen: i yield the balance of my time to mr. holt, my colleague from new jersey. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for three and a half minutes. mr. holt: i thank my colleague for yield bug also for putting together a very thoughtful amendment, a lot of thought has gone into this amendment, it is compassionate, yes, but it is thoughtful compassion, not dumb compassion. and i rise in opposition to an amendment offered by the gentleman from texas, a misguided amendment that would strike funding from noaa's regional grant program. these grants help scientists understand where and how the shoreline has changed, evaluate the long-term effects of storm damage and prepare mitigation plans for future severe weather events. the whole point is to rebuild better and smarter.

the flores amendment eliminates such funding for coastal mitigation which means congress would lose the opportunity to ensure that the money is spent on recovery from this disaster in a smart way. that makes coastal communities stronger and safer. it's nonsensical to impair the amendment of noaa to prepare properly for hurricanes in an emergency appropriations bill designed to respond to a hurricane. i strongly urge my colleagues to reject this misguided amendment and i thank my good friend from new jersey for all the thought that has gone into his amendment. the chair: does the gentleman yields back? mr. holt: i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from texas is recognized for his remaining one minute. mr. there ares re: i was going to ask how much -- mr. flores: i was going to ask how much time i had. this is what the money will go

for. it's a budge of -- a bunch of federal bureaucracies to carry out an executive order congress never approved. this is not about stopping sandry relief or providing food and sustenance for anybody or rebuilding roads and bridges. this is not about preventing future storms. this is about growing a federal bureaucracy that was never authorized by this congress. with that being said, i think it's a clear amendment, it does not stop sandry relief. i'd urge my colleagues to support this amendment. thank you. the chair: the gentleman from texas' time has expired. the gentleman from new jersey does have two minutes remaining, if he seeks recognition? mr. frelinghuysen: i yield back my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from texas, those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. the amendment is not agreed to.

mr. free ling -- mr. flores: i request a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from texas will be postponed. it is now in order to consider amendment number three printed in part c of house report 113-1. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number three printed in part c of house report 113-1, offered by mr. runyan of new jersey. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 23, the gentleman in new jersey, mr. runyan, and a member opposed, will each control five minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. mr. runyan: thank you, madam chair. i rise in support of my amendment which make aztecny call correction to the curn bill

language to make it clear that fisheries disaster funding is restricted to those states that were declared fishery disasters in 2012 as a direct result of hurricane sandy. while i understand the intent of the appropriations was to limit the money to the states impacted by hurricane sandy, noaa has informed me that according to the current bill language, they would distribute the money from any state with a fisheries disaster declaration in 2012. while i'm disappointed that more money hasn't been appropriated to the fisheries that were damaged during sandy, we need to make sure that this limited money gets to the fisheries that need it most in new jersey and new york. there's only $5 million appropriated for the fisheries bill. in new jersey alone the commercial fishing industry has sustained over $4 million in damage. this amendment was supported by the garden state seafood association, the recreational fishing alicense and the marine

association in jersey. i ask unanimous consent that three letters of support be submitted for the record. the chair: the annapolis consent request will be considered under general leave. mr. runyan: i thank the rules committee for ruling my amendment in order and urge my colleagues to support it. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves his time. does any member seek time in opposition? the gentleman from new jersey, mr. runyan is recognized. mr. runyan: i would like to yield to my colleague from new jersey, congressman smith. the chair: how much time? mr. runyan: a minute. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. smith: i rise in strong support of the amendment offered by my good friend and colleague, mr. runyan, to ensure the funding in this bill is targeted to those fishery disasters resulting in superstorm sandy. recreational angling contributing more than $125 billion annually to the american

economy, madam speaker, in addition to creating over a million jobs. new jersey has a long tradition of fishing along our 130-mile shoreline, recreational and commercial fishing generates other $1.3 billion in new jersey in economic activity. and it supports 8,500 jersey jobs. this vital interest not only creates and sustained good jobs and boosts fishery conservation efforts, tourism, and contributes significantly to the economy in coastal communs. the disaster relief will help rebuild the damaged and destroyed infrastructure so this industry can recover and return to prestorm levels. i urge all members to support mr. runyan's amendment. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. runyan, is recognized. mr. runyan: i yield a minute to --